1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an apparatus having controlled components that are operated in order to produce an apparatus action, wherein the control of the components is dependent on which circuit board, among a number of different circuit board variants, is currently present in the apparatus.
The invention more specifically concerns a printing apparatus of the type using an inkjet printing device and a controller that controls printing, as an apparatus action. Such a printing apparatus is suitable for use in franking machines, addressing machines and other mail processing devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An inkjet printing device is equipped in a known manner with an inkjet printing module and a transport device that has a transport belt in order to transport flat items to be printed in a transport direction past the printing module. A pressing device presses the flat item onto the transport belt. The inkjet printing module has a printing carriage, an electronic control unit, and at least one ink cartridge or at least one inkjet print head that is positioned stationary in a printing position over the transport path during the printing. The printing carriage can be moved transversely to the transport direction before or after the printing for maintenance or to exchange the at least one ink cartridge or the at least one inkjet print head. The printing apparatus has a sensor circuit board with sensors in order to detect the achieved position during the transverse movement of the printing carriage.
From published European Patent EP 1 300 807 B1, a method and an arrangement for opening a security housing are known that, in one embodiment, has a flap that can be opened at any time in order to allow a limited access to an opening for exchanging the ink cartridge. A cover of the electronic control unit of the printing module and of the control circuits of the electronic control unit serves to protect against tampering of the franking machine via the opening. The opening can be sealed by the flap. The flap is equipped with a stop that activates a switch upon opening the flap, this switch being arranged inside the security housing. The switch interrupts the power supply of a motor of the transverse movement mechanism of the printing module in order to avoid accidents due to the transverse movement of the printing module occurring while the flap is open. Even when the transversely movable printing module has been moved into the printing position or into a position outside of the printing position, the flap remains unlocked and can be opened. However, the printing module must be moved into an exchange position situated between the printing position and one of the other positions in order to exchange an ink cartridge that is then positioned in the region of an opening. Due to the situation of the exchange position being between the printing position and one of the other positions, an additional protection of the electronic control unit of the printing module and of the control circuits of the electronic control unit is necessary, which is costly in terms of materials.
A printing apparatus of modular design, with a removable, box-shaped module, is known from published German Patent Application DE 20 2010 015 354 A1. The apparatus is likewise equipped with at least one inkjet print head to print on flat items during the passage of the flat items through the apparatus. The inkjet print head is moved by a printing carriage into a printing position for printing. A sensor is arranged at a frame wall of the apparatus housing. This sensor signals to a microprocessor controller that a sealing position has been reached given movement of the printing carriage out of the printing position. The sensor can be realized as a photoelectric barrier. The printing carriage of the printing apparatus thereby likewise executes an orthogonal movement relative to the transport direction of the flat items.
A device to exchange ink cartridges of a printing device is known from published European Patent Application EP 2073173 A1. The printing device described therein has a transport direction for flat items, a pressure device, and a printing module, with the printing module arranged stationary in the printing device relative to a pressure device, which presses the flat item onto a transport belt, which, in the transport region, acts with a predetermined stiction on a surface portion of the flat item. Printing does not take place on this surface portion but it is situated close to the region that is to be printed. An exchange position for ink cartridges is located over or in front of the transport region of the transport direction. The alignment of the ink cartridge in the printing module is such that its underside faces forward (thus toward the front side of the printing apparatus). A cartridge flap that seals the opening for the exchange cannot be opened when the ink cartridge is not located in the exchange position. By making the location of the exchange position near the front side of the printing apparatus (thus in front of all other positions), no additional protection of the electronic control unit of the printing module and the control circuits of the electronic control unit is required.
It is generally desirable that the production of a functional printing apparatus should be enabled using housing parts that have a greater tolerance range. In the above-described printing device, for example, the cartridge flap detection switch may not be triggered with certainty due to tolerance build-up of the assembled parts. A first design of an apparatus variant A therefore had to take place with parts that have only a slight tolerance, which made the production of the printing apparatus more expensive. A design of an apparatus variant B enables the use of parts with larger tolerance. A number of software variants, respectively appropriate for the different variants A and B are already loaded into the memory of the controller during the production of this printing apparatus. Selection (from the memory) and use of the software matched to the actual apparatus variant must take place, but it would be desirable to do so without needing to make a change to the hardware of the controller.